How Could You? Hall of Shame-Rick Roeber

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Missouri, Missouri State Congressman Rick Roeber resigned due to alleged abuse that “occurred in the early 1990s, during the children’s scheduled visits with their father. At the time, Roeber had undergone divorce proceedings with his ex-wife, Michelle Keller.

Anastasia Roeber, the legislator’s adopted daughter, alleged that in 1990, when she was 9 years old, he made her place her hand on his genitals. At another point, she alleged, he asked if he could touch her.

Anastasia Roeber didn’t tell Keller about the incident until 1993. The daughter said that her adoptive father warned her that if she told anyone what had happened, the police would take him away and put the entire family into trouble.

Anastasia Roeber also told the publication that her adoptive father used her as “his little stooge” to reveal her brothers’ behavior inside of their mother’s home. Rick Roeber would then allegedly use that information as justification for physically abusing his sons, Anastasia Roeber alleged. She added that her brothers no longer talk to her because of it.

“He beat the s–t out of us all the time,” Rick Roeber’s son, Samson, told the Star. “Also, (he would) hold us by our necks and hold us against the wall.”

A fourth unnamed sibling also alleged sexual abuse. A 2001 investigation by the Jackson County office of the Division of Family Services found probable cause that “sexual maltreatment” had occurred. However, two years later, Missouri’s Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board overturned the finding. Its reasons remain unclear since the board’s deliberations are private.

Roeber denied the accusations. He called them lies and said they resulted from a mental illness that he referred to as Parental Alienation Syndrome.

His children made the allegations during his campaign to represent Missouri’s 34th House District. After he won the election, three of his children wrote Republican state House Speaker Rob Vescovo asking him not to seat their father.

“To think that this man would have a say over laws that impact thousands of children is just too much,” the letter stated. “A man like this does not deserve the high honor of serving in our government. ”

House Republicans subsequently banned him from their caucus, and the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation. Vescovo and the committee chair both said that they find the childrens’ claims credible. The committee will release a report of its investigation’s findings next week.”

Missouri State Lawmaker Rick Roeber Resigns After his Children Accuse Him of Sexual Abuse
[Newsweek 4/14/21 by Daniel Villarreal]

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